UK Ambassador in Algeria: “There are no Algerian mercenaries in strife-torn Libya”
The UK Ambassador in Algeria, His Excellency Martyn Roper has said that there is no evidence whatsoever that Algeria has facilitated the funneling of foreign mercenaries to strife-torn Libya.
- Martyn Roper clearly underlined in a statement to “Echorouk” that the allegations pointing to Algeria of having sent foreign mercenaries to Libya to back forces loyal to beleaguered Muammar Kadhafi were totally groundless and mendacious.
- He also recalled that the main goal of the current NATO air campaign against the murderous Kadhafi regime was only aimed at shielding the defenseless civilian population there from further bloody atrocities by government forces in consistence with UN resolution 19.73 on Libya.
- With regard to the bloody events now unfolding in Syria, the UK Ambassador ruled out military intervention to protect Syrian civilians of the kind recently undertaken in Libya. He also admitted that British-backed efforts to agree a UN Security Council resolution condemning the horrendous repression in Syria have run into difficulties”.
- “We remain deeply concerned by the very serious situation in Syria, including in Jisr al-Shughour, where we have seen a large number of people flee the Syrian government’s military offensive,” he said.
- “The Syrian government must allow immediate and unconditional access to the International Committee of the Red Cross and other humanitarian agencies: there is no excuse for denying this access. The violence is unacceptable and must stop.”
- He stressed that the regime’s behaviour was “unacceptable” and said sanctions had already been imposed on 23 officials from the Syrian government. But he said options for further actions were limited”. The main thing we are trying to do is get a resolution from the UN Security Council. That is much more difficult than in the case of Libya.
- The comments came as the steady flow of refugees threatened to turn into a flood. According to official estimates, 4,000 people have fled to Turkey but diplomats said the figure was nearer to 10,000 and likely to rise quickly.
- The US is not sponsoring the UN resolution but has made clear it supports the text and condemns the violence against the demonstrators. The White House said on Saturday that the Syrian regime was creating a “humanitarian crisis” and called on it to halt its heinous clampdown immediately.